A clinical pilot trial of an artificial intelligence-driven smart phone application of bowel preparation for colonoscopy: a randomized clinical trial.

Background: High-quality bowel preparation is paramount for a successful colonoscopy. This study aimed to explore the effect of artificial intelligence-driven smartphone software on the quality of bowel preparation.

Methods: Firstly, we utilized 3305 valid liquid dung images collected mobile phones as training data.

Crucial role of humic substance type in Cr(VI) reduction by humic substance-Fe(III) coprecipitates but not in adsorption.

Wetlands exhibit a self-purification effect on Cr(VI) owing to the adsorption and reduction capabilities of their humic substance (HS)-Fe(III) coprecipitates. However, the similarities and differences in the adsorption and reduction of Cr(VI) by different types of HS-Fe(III) coprecipitates remains unknown. In this study, fulvic acid (FA)- and humic acid (HA)-Fe(III) coprecipitates were synthesized with initial C/Fe ratios ranging from 0.

Aerobic Fe transformation induced decrease in the adsorption and enhancement in the reduction of Cr(VI) by humic acid-ferric iron coprecipitates.

Humic substance (HS)-ferric iron (Fe(III)) coprecipitates are widespread organo-mineral associations in soils and aquifers and have the capacity to immobilize and detoxify Cr(VI). These coprecipitates undergo transformation owing to their thermodynamic instability; however, the effects of this transformation on their environmental behaviors remain unclear, particularly in aerobic environments. In this study, the aerobic transformation of humic acid (HA)-Fe(III) coprecipitates, a representative of HS-Fe(III) coprecipitates, was simulated.

mTORC2: A neglected player in aging regulation.

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a serine/threonine kinase that plays a pivotal role in various biological processes, through integrating external and internal signals, facilitating gene transcription and protein translation, as well as by regulating mitochondria and autophagy functions. mTOR kinase operates within two distinct protein complexes known as mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2), which engage separate downstream signaling pathways impacting diverse cellular processes. Although mTORC1 has been extensively studied as a pro-proliferative factor and a pro-aging hub if activated aberrantly, mTORC2 received less attention, particularly regarding its implication in aging regulation.

AMPK-upregulated microRNA-708 plays as a suppressor of cellular senescence and aging via downregulating disabled-2 and mTORC1 activation.

Senescence-associated microRNAs (SA-miRNAs) are important molecules for aging regulation. While many aging-promoting SA-miRNAs have been identified, confirmed aging-suppressive SA-miRNAs are rare, that impeded our full understanding on aging regulation. In this study, we verified that miR-708 expression is decreased in senescent cells and aged tissues and revealed that miR-708 overexpression can alleviate cellular senescence and aging performance.

New insight into the functional group mechanism and structure-activity relationship of the complexation between DOM and Cr(III) in landfill leachate.

Widespread landfills represent a significant source of groundwater contamination. Due to the unique and diverse nature of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in landfill leachate, the interaction between DOM and heavy metals, along with its quantitative evaluation, remains unknown. Consequently, we collected ten samples from various landfill types to serve as representatives for a comprehensive investigation of the mechanism involving functional groups and Cr(III) through the establishment of a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR).

Mechanistic insight into Cr(VI) retention by Si-containing ferrihydrite.

Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] causes serious harm to the environment due to its high toxicity, solubility, and mobility. Ferrihydrites (Fh) are the main adsorbent and trapping agent of Cr(VI) in soils and aquifers, and they usually coexist with silicate (Si), forming Si-containing ferrihydrite (Si-Fh) mixtures. However, the mechanism of Cr(VI) retention by Si-Fh mixtures is poorly understood.

A small-scale silica gel column chromatography method for separating carbazole compounds from highly mature crude oil.

The concentration of carbazoles in highly mature crude oil is quite low, making it challenging to separate carbazole compounds for the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) detection. This study presents a small-scale column chromatography method for separating carbazoles from highly mature crude oil using silica gel as a solid phase adsorbent and a Pasteur pipette as a separation device. The carbazole-rich crude oil from the Pearl River Mouth Basin was selected to explore the impact of reagent polarity and injection mode on the separation of carbazoles.

APPL1 Is a Prognostic Biomarker and Correlated with Treg Cell Infiltration via Oxygen-Consuming Metabolism in Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma.

Kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) is one of the most hazardous tumors in the urinary system. The regulation of oxygen consumption in renal clear cell carcinoma is a consequence of adaptive reprogramming of oxidative metabolism in tumor cells. APPL1 is a signaling adaptor involved in cell survival, oxidative stress, inflammation, and energy metabolism.

Glutamine Availability Regulates the Development of Aging Mediated by mTOR Signaling and Autophagy.

Glutamine is a conditionally essential amino acid involved in energy production and redox homeostasis. Aging is commonly characterized by energy generation reduction and redox homeostasis dysfunction. Various aging-related diseases have been reported to be accompanied by glutamine exhaustion.

Pan-mTOR inhibitors sensitize the senolytic activity of navitoclax via mTORC2 inhibition-mediated apoptotic signaling.

Compounds with senolysis activity are discovered in recent years, featuring by their capacity to specifically eliminate senescent cells in vitro or in vivo. These compounds, referring to as Senolytics, provide a new method for aging counteraction and probably for geriatric disease amelioration. However, their clinical application is unpractical still, mainly because of the safety issue.

miR-146a impedes the anti-aging effect of AMPK via NAMPT suppression and NAD/SIRT inactivation.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is indispensable for the anti-aging activity of the sirtuin (SIRT) family enzymes. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) upregulates NAD synthesis and SIRT activity in a nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT)-dependent manner. However, the molecular mechanisms that affect AMPK-driven NAMPT expression and NAD/SIRT activation remain unclear.

Novel efficient capture of Cr(VI) from soil driven by capillarity and evaporation coupling.

Soil contaminated by hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) poses a severe environmental threat owing to the carcinogenic and genotoxic characteristics of Cr(VI). Currently, field application of remediation technologies for Cr(VI) removal or detoxification fails to achieve optimum results owing to various limitations, such as high energy consumption, high chemical cost, secondary pollution, and long treatment duration. Herein, a novel strategy, namely, the capillary-evaporation membrane (CEM) method, which is based on the ubiquitous phenomena of capillarity and evaporation in natural soil environment without external forces, was applied to remove Cr(VI) from contaminated soil.

New insight into the adsorption mechanism of PCP by humic substances with different degrees of humification in the presence of Cr(VI).

Humic substances (HSs) have great retention effects on pentachlorophenol (PCP) migration in subsurface environment, but the adsorption mechanism of PCP by HSs with various aromatic/aliphatic moieties and acidic functional groups in the presence of Cr(VI) is still unclear. In this study, the adsorption mechanism of PCP by undissolved humic acid (HA) and humin (HM) extracted from peat, black soil, lignite and coal was investigated under the presence of Cr(VI). According to the results, HA samples had much lower adsorption capacity for hydrophobic PCP than HM samples due to their higher contents of hydrophilic polar oxygen-containing functional groups.

Natural attenuation mechanism of hexavalent chromium in a wetland: Zoning characteristics of abiotic and biotic effects.

Natural wetland has great retention effect on Cr(VI) migration due to its abiotic and biotic reduction abilities, however, the zoning characteristics of dominating reduction mechanism along Cr(VI) pollution plume in wetland is still unclear. In this study, a Cr(VI) contaminated natural wetland was explored to investigate the distributions of Cr and Fe in groundwater and sediment, and their relationship with microorganisms according to metagenomics, aiming to reveal the natural attenuation mechanism of Cr(VI) from the perspective of zoning characteristics of abiotic and biotic effects. The wetland was divided into contaminated zone, transition zone and uncontaminated zone according to the contamination states of groundwater and sediment.

Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor in Senescence and Age-Related Diseases.

Although microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) has been known for decades as a key regulator for melanocytic differentiation, recent studies expanded its other roles in multiple biological processes. Among these newfound roles, the relationship between MITF and aging is attractive; however, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Here, we review the documented cues that highlight the implication of MITF in the aging process and particularly discuss the possible mechanisms underlying the participation of MITF in cellular senescence.

Insights into the kinetic processes of solute migration by unidirectional freezing in porous media with micromodel visualization at the pore-scale.

Field investigations have proved that frozen soil does not act as a completely impermeable barrier for contaminants in cold regions. However, the subsurface behaviors of solutes in freezing and frozen porous media are still unclear. To unveil their nature, the pore-scale behavior of potassium permanganate in saturated porous media subjected to the unidirectional freezing was investigated using micromodel visualizations.

Mechanism and multi-step kinetic modelling of Cr(VI) adsorption, reduction and complexation by humic acid, humin and kerogen from different sources.

Humin (HM) and kerogen (KG) are widespread in soils and sediments, which have strong retention effects on the migration and transformation of Cr(VI) in subsurface environment. Previous studies mainly focused on the interaction between Cr(VI) and soluble organic matter, such as humic acid (HA); however, the adsorption and reduction mechanism for Cr(VI) by insoluble HM and KG are still unclear, the processes of which might be quite different from HA due to their different sources and humification degrees. Consequently, in this study, HA, HM and KG extracted from different sources were used to explore the adsorption, reduction and complexation mechanisms of Cr(VI) in soils and sediments, based on which a multi-step kinetic model of Cr(VI) was carried out.

Synergistic/antagonistic effects and mechanisms of Cr(VI) adsorption and reduction by Fe(III)-HA coprecipitates.

Widespread Fe(III)-humic acid (HA) coprecipitates (FHCs) have substantial impacts on the adsorption and reduction of Cr(VI) in soils and sediments, but whether this process is equal to the sum of their individual components remains unknown. In this study, ferrihydrite (Fh)- and HA-like FHCs (C/Fe<3 and C/Fe>3, respectively) were synthesized by controlling the initial C/Fe ratios (0.5-18) to explore the potential synergistic/antagonistic effects during the adsorption and reduction of Cr(VI).

Synergistic Effects of Micronano Structures on Porosity and the Permeability of Shale Under Varying Effective Stresses and Temperatures: A Case Study of Fresh Outcrops from Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation Shale in the Southern Sichuan Basin, China.

To study the changes in porosity-permeability and the characteristics of the pore structure of shale under stress and high temperature, the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation shale in the southern Sichuan Basin, China, was investigated under conditions of continuous pressurization and heating. In addition, the pore compression coefficients and permeability stress sensitivity coefficients were analyzed and quantified. The mineral composition of these was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR).

A CpxR-Regulated Gene Involved in Biofilm Formation of Uropathogenic Proteus mirabilis.

, a frequent uropathogen, forms extensive biofilms on catheters that are infamously difficult to treat. To explore the mechanisms of biofilm formation by , we performed transposon mutagenesis. A mutant with impaired biofilm formation was isolated.

Nrf2-SHP Cascade-Mediated STAT3 Inactivation Contributes to AMPK-Driven Protection Against Endotoxic Inflammation.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is implicated in inflammation processing, but the mechanism of its regulation mostly remains limited to Janus kinase (JAK)-mediated phosphorylation. Although AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-mediated STAT3 inactivation has got documented, the molecular signaling cascade connecting STAT3 inactivation and the anti-inflammatory role of AMPK is far from established. In the present study, we addressed the interplay between AMPK and STAT3, and revealed the important role of STAT3 inactivation in the anti-inflammatory function of AMPK in lipopolysaccharide-stressed macrophages and mice.

Autolysosomal degradation of cytosolic chromatin fragments antagonizes oxidative stress-induced senescence.

Oxidative stress-induced DNA damage, the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), and impaired autophagy all are general features of senescent cells. However, the cross-talk among these events and processes is not fully understood. Here, using NIH3T3 cells exposed to hydrogen peroxide stress, we show that stress-induced DNA damage provokes the SASP largely via cytosolic chromatin fragment (CCF) formation, which activates a cascade comprising cGMP-AMP synthase (cGAS), stimulator of interferon genes protein (STING), NF-κB, and SASP, and that autolysosomal function inhibits this cascade.

[Vertical Pollution Characteristics and Sources of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in a Heterogeneous Unsaturated Zone Under a Coking Plant].

Six deep sampling boreholes are used for studying the sources and vertical distribution of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in an abandoned coking plant. The maximum depth of soil sampling ranged from 9.5-42 m.